Premium volume and expenses

Premium percentage by lines of business and region(figures for 2012 in parentheses)

Premium volume

A brief presentation of the premium development is included under item 28 (Net earned premiums) of the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Vienna Insurance Group earned EUR 9,218.57 million in premiums in 2013, representing a decrease of 4.4% compared to the previous year. Vienna Insurance Group retained EUR 8,445.38 million of the gross premiums written. EUR 773.19 million was ceded to reinsurers. The decrease in premiums is essentially due to the intentional reduction in short-term single-premium business in Poland and the motor vehicle business of the Donau branch in Italy. In addition, VIG continued to restructure its portfolio in Romania and intentionally refrained from taking part in the intensive price competition being practiced by some market participants, which also led to a reduction in premium volume.

Many countries, on the other hand, recorded high growth rates for premiums written, such as the Baltic States (+35.5%), Serbia (+17.9%), Slovakia (+5.8%), the Ukraine (+5.9%), Hungary (+14.6%) and Turkey (+5.5%). The Remaining Markets segment rose above the EUR 1 billion mark for premium volume for the first time in 2013.

Overall, the Group generated 55.5% of its premiums outside Austria in 2013. For property and casualty insurance, the share contributed by companies outside Austria was 58.9%. 56.0% of the premiums in the life insurance segment were generated outside of Austria, and 10.2% of the premium volume in the health insurance segment was generated outside of Austria by the Georgian companies.

Expenses for claims and insurance benefits

A brief presentation of expenses for claims and benefits is included under item 32 (Expenses for claims and insurance benefits) of the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Expenses for claims and insurance benefits were EUR 7,210.55 million in 2013 after deducting the share attributable to reinsurance (EUR 386.86 million). Similar to the decrease in premiums, this represents a decline of 5.0% compared to the previous year.

Acquisition and administrative expenses

A brief presentation of acquisition and administrative expenses is included under item 33 (Acquisition and administrative expenses) of the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Acquisition and administrative expenses were EUR 1,866.32 million for all consolidated VIG companies in 2013, representing an increase of 2,8% compared to the previous year. This increase is the result of a greater focus on the non-motor vehicle lines of business and the higher commission expenses associated with them.